Swimmers ran out of the water covering their heads from the assault of hail. / Ruslan Sokolov

by Doyle Rice, USA TODAY

by Doyle Rice, USA TODAY

A sudden hail storm smashed the quiet of a day at the beach in the large Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, on Saturday.

Two small children were killed by the hailstorm, though they were apparently not on the beach in this video.

As temperatures reached 98 degrees that afternoon, according to AccuWeather, a powerful thunderstorm unleashed heavy rain, damaging winds and large hail on beachgoers along the Ob River.

Some of the hailstones were the size of golf balls and hen eggs, according to a report from the Siberian Times.

Though the video starts out with people laughing, it gets more serious as the hailstorm starts to intensify.

Some children were in tears, sheltering under trees, as the hail bombardment struck the beach, the newspaper reported. 'It was like being hit by raining bullets from the sky,' said one sunbather.

According to the Associated Press, Russian authorities have opened an investigation into the deaths of two children during the hailstorm.

Two young girls aged 3 and 4 died Saturday in Bredsk, not far from Novosibirsk. The two girls died after sustaining traumatic brain injuries when a tree fell on their tent, where they were taking shelter from the storm, along with their families.

Including Russia, other parts of the world that have damaging hailstorms include China, India and northern Italy.

In the USA, hailstorms are most common on the Plains, especially just east of the Rockies.